I was pretty excited to see the sights from a new angle. The only other passenger was an old lady, who looked equally excited. It would have been a shame not to have a photo in the ferry; so I requested the old lady to click one. She happily obliged and though her hands were shaky, the camera gyro did a perfect job and the photo was good.
She gave a detailed description of every landmark we passed. When I rose to leave, she said, “Are you leaving?” to which I replied in positive. She said, “Are you sure? You haven’t seen the best parts.” I didn’t have anything to lose, so I stuck. We alighted at the last stop, The Royal Library. She asked me about how I came to be in Denmark, how long was I here and so on. She also asked me if I had planned anything specific to which I replied that I hadn’t. I was just soaking in the city, going wherever the road takes me. She inquired if I would mind if she showed me around; I said I would be honored to have her company.
The first stop we took was at Christian’s Church. It is an old beautiful church, well maintained with a massive pipe organ. She told me the significance of each painting, each statue and so on. Just when we were leaving, the pipe organ started playing. The old lady, who was walking a few steps ahead of me, turned around, gripped my arm with amazing strength and led me, like a small child, to a seat. Then she said something I will never forget, “Close your eyes, kid. Listen, with more than just your ears”.
The music that poured was deeper and more resonating than all I had heard till then. When the music stopped, I opened my eyes and saw her crying. I did not disturb her till she opened her eyes, wiped them and said, “I have been coming to this church since last 50 years. This music always moves me to tears.”
When we were on the streets, she started giving history of each and every landmark we passed by. Even a guide couldn’t have surpassed her knowledge. After a couple of hours, we came to a building by the Kastellet when she stopped, grinned sheepishly and said, “Would it be improper if I invite you for tea to my place?”
I grinned and asked, “Pardon me for breaking the social norm, madam, but, how old are you?”
She blushed, “Seventy seven!”
“Then it is not improper at all!”
Once upstairs, I was treated to a tour of her four-roomed apartment, delicious sandwiches and Ceylon tea. She happily showed me some pictures of her India visit, cried while recollecting memories of her husband – their marriage of 55 years ended with his death four months before – and showed some more pictures of her children, grand children and great grand children. We talked about almost everything under the sun and, despite her advanced years, she was more up-to-date about the world than I was. After another couple of hours, when I got up to leave, she asked me my name. We both started laughing at the absurdity of the situation; here were we, two perfect strangers who enjoyed the company of each other without bothering about names!
Her name was ‘Vivi’ but everyone called her ‘Susan’. I asked her to pose at favorite spot in the house and she was quite a model.
Thank you for the wonderful information about Copehangen. Thank you for the sandwiches and tea. And, above all, thank you for teaching me what hospitality means.
I might forget ‘Den Lille Havfrue’ but you, Vivi, I will never forget.
1 comment:
Exceptional!
There is a lot of goodness in this world and you have had a fair share in Denmark, young man!
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